Star’s visit both sad and joyful
Terminally ill boy asks to see Mcinga sing
MTHATHA gospel star Lusanda Mcinga travelled all the way to Cape Town to do a private performance for a terminally ill 11-year-old boy.
Sanda Matshayana, from Mthatha, has already undergone four surgeries but doctors said there was nothing much more they could do should he experience any further complications.
Sanda is currently being treated at Vincent Palotti Hospital, where Mcinga performed for him.
On Monday, he underwent his fourth and last surgery.
He underwent surgery for the first time when he was a few days old.
After the news was broken to him, he was asked to make a wishlist. On it, Mcinga was at the top. Speaking to the Dispatch this week, Mcinga said she had mixed feelings about her visit.
“I am happy that he wanted to see me and that wish was fulfilled, but it is what he asked me that brought tears to my eyes.
“In his exact words he asked kodwa mama ndandenzeni mna lento uThixo andenze ndanje [but mama, what did I do to God for Him to make me this way],” she said.
Mcinga said she had the daunting task of convincing the little boy that it was not his fault that he was born with short bowel syndrome.
“We are hoping for heavenly intervention in his situation.
“Doctors have given up, but in God we trust,” she said.
Mcinga said while they were still chatting, young Sanda abruptly changed the subject and requested that she sing Mandihambe naWe Yesu , the title track of her 2001 album.
“I could see tears rolling down his face as I was singing. He then stopped crying and sang along. “I was so touched,” she said. Matshayana’s mother, Kayakazi Macozoma-Titus, said her son has been a huge fan of Mcinga’s since he was five years old.
“My son had always loved Lusanda. I was not surprised when one of his wishes was to see her.
“Emotionally, he became so much alive after seeing Lusanda,” she said.
Macozoma-Titus said it was a very difficult time for her as a parent.
“We are expecting anything, anytime, but as his mother I have to be strong and not give up – just for his sake. I cannot fall apart,” she said.
“Doctors told me that should there be complications again, there is nothing they could do.
“He was told of the news and was then asked to make a wishlist – and Mcinga topped the list,” she said. — abongilem@dispatch.co.za